Liriano joins rotation, Silva to 'pen  —  Rookie southpaw to start Friday against Milwaukee  —  MINNEAPOLIS — In an effort to get his confidence up and his sinker down, the Twins have decided to move Carlos Silva to the bullpen.  —  Rookie southpaw Francisco Liriano will start in Silva's place on Friday in Milwaukee.

He's a keeper  —  D'backs reward Tracy with three-year extension  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Third baseman Chad Tracy and the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed Monday to a three-year, $13.25 million contract extension through 2009 that includes a team option for the following season.

Notes: Angels thinking pink  —  Colored bats and story behind them a hit with players  —  ANAHEIM — Major League Baseball broke out the pink bats on Sunday in support of the fight against breast cancer.  —  In a collective effort to raise money for the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation …

Tomko, Dodgers take the opener  —  Three-run seventh inning key to Los Angeles win  —  DENVER — Brett Tomko pitched seven innings and scored the tiebreaking run with a headfirst slide into home, and the Dodgers held on to defeat the Colorado Rockies on Monday night, 5-4.

Prospectus Today  —  He's Baaaaaaack  —  So yesterday afternoon, instead of my usual routine of flipping through a number of ballgames, I had settled on the Yankees/A's tilt.  I liked the pitching matchup, with one of my favorite young pitchers, Dan Haren, going up against someone who's …

Mailbag: Much ado about Milledge  —  Beat writer Marty Noble answers Mets fans' questions  —  With Cliff Floyd slumping and Lastings Milledge hitting around .300, isn't it time to consider bringing up Milledge?  —  No. It's time to give Milledge more time.  And it's time to afford Floyd more time as well.

A's bring out Bonderman's best  —  When Jeremy Bonderman went to the mound in Oakland last Wednesday night the Tigers had won one of 18 games and were on their way to being anchor and talk-show host punch lines, not to mention lending themselves to a stockpile of negative footnotes to history.

Future Shock  —  Howie Kendrick's first taste of the big leagues turned out to be one to forget, as arguably the best hitter in the minor leagues went just 3-for-26 before being sent back to Triple-A Salt Lake to make way for shortstop Erick Aybar.  The Angels already have three players …

Minor Matters: Unlisted Hitting Prospects Worth Knowing  —  We're just six weeks into the minor league season and it's already time to throw away your favorite "Top Prospect" lists from this past winter.  Young players can mature significantly during the offseason, when they rest nagging injuries …

Hall of Fame Game canceled due to rain  —  Sixtieth annual event — between Reds, Bucs — called in third  —  COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The annual Hall of Fame Game requires nearly 12 months of planning on the parts of Hall of Fame officials and Cooperstown, N.Y., village employees …

Catch Me If You Can  —  Alternate Title: Oh, Wiki You're So Fine...  Nationals 8, Braves 1  —  I realize it's been a long, long time since I've done a game recap, but it's been a long time since there's been a game that I've (a) seen and (b) felt any urge to revisit.  (Cable monopolies... they're COM-CASTIC!!!)

First Pitch, May 15  —  CROWDED  —  The Colorado Rockies have a big decision to make on right-handed pitcher Sunwoo Kim, who allowed one hit in eight shutout innings of a rehabilitation start for Class AAA Colorado Springs against Omaha on Saturday.  At some point, the Rockies are going to be faced …

Ugly game, wasted effort  —  Mother's Day brought the Cardinals another typical start from Chris Carpenter, neglected pitcher.  —  The National League's reigning Cy Young Award winner threw six innings without allowing an earned run.  His reward was no decision in his team's messy 7-6 loss …

Power Rankings: Phils bust into top 10  —  Gotta love Aaron Rowand.  Going all-out, sacrificing the nose, getting bloody, making a Web Gem grab, helping save a rain-soaked victory.  —  And you've gotta love Rowand's Phillies right now, as well.  Their nine-game win streak might have ended this week …

Role reversals are possible  —  BOSTON — Ian Kinsler lost his job as the Rangers' starting second baseman because of a dislocated left thumb.  —  Francisco Cordero ceded the closer's role because of his ineffectiveness.  —  Both players are close to being able to make a case to reclaim their jobs.